The life and times of a motoring and motor rallying journalist in Scotland

Wednesday, 9 December 2015

Rally - Hyundai WRC

Earlier today Hyundai Motorsport took the wraps off its 2016 FIA
World Rally Championship (WRC) contender, the New Generation i20 WRC, at the
team's factory in Alzenau, Germany.

From a standing start in 2013, the team developed a brand new WRC
car from scratch for its first season of competition. The car secured a maiden
win in Germany in 2014. From there, the team enjoyed a more consistent second
season, scoring four podium finishes and fighting for second place in the
Manufacturers' Championship right up to the season finale.

This past year, the team has also been committed to a year-long
test and development programme for a WRC specification of the road-going New
Generation i20, with its competitive debut set for Rallye Monte-Carlo 2016. The
New Generation i20 WRC has already accumulated 8,000km of testing prior to
today's launch, and has proven to be quicker than its predecessor, with the
team's drivers also praising improved drivability.

Hyundai Motorsport will field three cars in every round of the 2016
Championship, with Dani Sordo, Hayden Paddon and Thierry Neuville all confirmed
for a full season. The precise car-driver composition will differ from event to
event. The team will begin its third season with two New Generation i20 WRCs
and one previous model at Rallye Monte-Carlo before increasing to three
identical cars from Rally Sweden.

The team has also retained the services of rising Dutch star Kevin
Abbring, who will remain as Hyundai Motorsport Test Driver. Abbring will
contest selected WRC rounds in a fourth car, but his primary focus will be on
managing development of the team's 2017 WRC car and R5 activities.

The R5 project, run under Hyundai Motorsport's customer racing
division, will roll out in the next few weeks. There will be a development
phase during the first half of 2016, homologation of the car in mid-2016, with orders
being accepted in the second part of the year.